Rain
by Supernerdette
Summary: So fluffy it should be in a zoo. Ed's automail acts up in the rain and Mustang helps him out a bit.


**Rain**

**So I have been into anime for a while but never got the courage to write a fanfic for any. Behold, my first Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction. This is a 1-shot until further notice is given. **

Edward Elric cursed as he stumbled into a brick wall. He was on the way back from Eastern HQ after a bothersome and frankly pointless debriefing of his most recent escapade which had involved at least three demolished buildings and seven hospitalised thieves. One of the thieves had had a magnetic pulse machine that disrupted one of the circuits in his arm and it was all he could do to stop the limb flailing around madly.

On top of that, there was now a light drizzle beginning to fall clouds and each drop onto his arm further nudged the wires closer together; the equivalent of having a pinched nerve in a real arm. The oncoming rain did not make it easier on his leg. The bigger the automail port, the more affected it was by the rain and whilst fingers, eyes or hands warranted minor discomfort, the throbbing ache in his leg was hindering his mobility considerably.

The drizzle transformed into an outright downpour instantaneously. Had Ed not already been crouched and rubbing his metal shoulder, he would have fallen to the pavement. As it was, his metal leg gave out on him and his flesh one didn't last much longer. He sank to the ground, huddling slightly under an unused shop porch.

The Fullmetal Alchemist had never felt so pathetic. How was he supposed to return his brother's body when a measly bit of rain defeated him so easily? How could he keep going and be strong when even the weather was stronger than him? Wallowing in shame, he pulled his trademark coat over his head and drew his knees up to his chest, creating a slight shelter next to a metal bin.

Colonel Mustang slouched behind the wheel of a small military car. The day had been counterproductive and infuriating. Havoc had been in a fight with Hayate, which prompted much squealing from Fuery and an extremely overprotective Hawkeye. Breda hadn't come out of his locker for most of the day due to the dog's presence and the only sane person in his office other than himself had been Falman, who had busied himself with reading a dictionary. To top that off, it was now raining and he could feel the atmosphere tighten, and with it a tension in his wrist. As he turned the car around a particularly sharp bend, the wheel bumped roughly against a pothole filled with water and a huge wave was sent up into a nearby shop porch. An angry shout and several clanging noises followed the splash of the water.

He thought he'd better get out and see what happened, being a responsible Colonel of the military and all. Scratch that; he didn't want to leave the vehicle and venture into the pouring rain, but he thought it would be a lot better than someone complaining about his driving. It was a recognizable military vehicle after all and the Flame Alchemist had already received several warnings for his driving. So, grumbling, he wrenched open the door handle of the small vehicle and pulled his coat around his shoulders to protect him from the rain, before stepping outside and slamming the door shut.

What he saw was not what he expected.

To start with, there was no angry civilian shouting abuse at him. For once. And, he couldn't see anything that might have made the clanging noise, apart from a single dustbin which couldn't have collided with itself. But then what-? Oh. There was another metal item next to the bin, beneath what looked like a red tarpaulin. It looked vaguely familiar but Mustang couldn't remember what it reminded him of. He grabbed the metal item out of sheer curiosity and pulled.

He really did not expect what happened next either.

A gasp of agony followed by a stream of muttered curses sounded before the Colonel put together the fact that the 'tarpaulin' looked familiar and that the metal he was pulling was in the shape of – no, it _was_- a hand.

All at once, the red tarpaulin became Ed's trademark Flamel coat, whipping through the air dramatically as the fiery young alchemist tried to fight him off; on the basis that Roy was his enemy.  
The key word there was _tried_. Edward was a worthy opponent for Mustang on most days except this one.

He'd hardly got up and raised his fist to strike back when his metal leg locked and his arm gave a particularly painful twinge. The already-occurring ache had not been helped at all by Roy's blundering hands. Still thinking the Flame Colonel was an enemy, he kicked and struggled, dragging himself backwards on the two working limbs he had. Finally, he hauled himself to his feet through no small effort and faced the 'threat'.

"Fullmetal." The baritone voice brought the panicked teen back to his senses. "What exactly are you doing here?"

Ed tried to laugh but it sounded hollow. "I'm having a day off. What do you think?!" His ever-present attitude was perfectly in place, but failed him when he tried to step up to his superior officer and his leg gave way again. He started to fall with a muffled cry of frustration and pain when Mustang grabbed him and supported his weight, pulling his arm over his shoulders. "Hey! Get off!" The offending limb was thrown off the metal shoulder, but the older alchemist persisted.

"I'm trying to _help_ you, you brat!" Ed froze and looked at him wide-eyed. "My car is just on the road. I don't want to stay in this rain any more than you do, alright?" Edward nodded mutely and started stumbling to the vehicle, eventually accepting Mustang's assistance with the short trip.

Once he'd all but thrown himself into the passenger's seat and out of the rain, he released all semblances of the crumbling façade he'd been attempting outside. He grabbed his coat and yanked it off impatiently, clutching his shoulder port and wincing. The rain was lashing down now and the pain in his automail ports, whilst nowhere near that of the installation and connection, was heightening drastically. Ed gritted his teeth and forcefully straightened his body from its hunched over position as Mustang sat down in the driver's side and slammed the door shut.

"Care to tell me what's wrong?" Black eyes bored into him. Ed muttered some insults. "Look, either you spill or stop fidgeting. It's annoying and unnecessary, especially on rainy days like this." The younger stared out of the window before realising what he'd said.

"You don't like rainy days, Mustang?"

"I'm the _flame_ alchemist, so not really. "He rolled his left wrist slightly. Ed did not fail to pick up on this detail and managed to give him a look similar to that of his first lieutenant when she wanted to know exactly _how_ many pints he'd drunk at the bar with Breda. "What?" Mustang hoped Ed had missed his tiny slip up.

"Your wrist. What's-" Ed grabbed his port again, holding back a gasp, "-wrong with it?" The older man sighed – he hadn't been able to fool the boy, then.

"Brat."

"Tell me."

"Brat- don't hit me. It's the rain. I have a metal pin in my wrist from when I broke it at the end of the war in Ishval." Ed nodded, "And when it rains it aches like hell."

The downpour just became a torrential flood and Edward doubled over in his seat, clutching his right arm and gasping slightly. His superior looked concernedly down at him. He tried to stomp his foot in frustration.

Not a good idea.

He was so angry at the unfairness of it all, he stomped his foot with all the power he could muster. All the strength coiled up in that little body went straight down onto the sore and painful automail port on his leg. He saw stars and yelled in pain. When he was finished, Mustang looked at him curiously. Damn, he wasn't going to get out of this one so easily.

"You know how your wrist hurts in the rain?" The Flame Alchemist nodded. Ed didn't say another word; he just lifted his automail arm and leg slightly. Mustang's face dawned with realization. If his wrist was bad enough to make him grumpy all day, what must metal bolted straight onto bone be like?

He started the engine and silently drove away, towards the brothers' latest hotel. Ed flinched with every pothole that jolted the metal limbs. After about five minutes of this, Roy was fed up and opened a glove compartment, retrieving a bottle of pills. He threw them at the teenager whose perfect reflexes snatched them out of the air.

"Are you trying to drug me, Mustang?" He squinted at the label on the bottle with no avail; it was written in Xingese and he couldn't understand a word of it. Still suspicious, he took off the lid and peered inside. The pills looked ordinary – white with a line down the centre – but he couldn't be too careful.

In the driver's seat, Roy Mustang cursed Ed's instinctual distrust of adults. He knew the kid had had a rough time around older people, especially those in any kind of paternal role.

"If I poisoned you, I'd face too much paperwork. Just take the damn pills, midget." For once, he overlooked the childish insult to his height and looked at the man's face. Satisfied by the genuinely honest expression, he took out one pill and swallowed it dry.

The rest of the car journey was taken in silence. Once they neared the hotel, Ed sat up straighter and grabbed his sodden coat. The rain was beginning to wear off at this point, so by the time Roy had parked outside it was barely spitting.

With a muttered 'thanks', Ed shoved the door open and sprung out of his seat. He started to walk off and then doubled back to the driver's side. Mustang wound his window down.

"What is it, shortie?" His face screwed up slightly like he was swallowing his pride.

"Those pills…kinda worked. What are they called and where did you get them?" The Colonel laughed.

"They're from a Xingese traveller merchant and I have no idea what they're called." His face fell. Shrugging, the Fullmetal Alchemist trudged back to the hotel doors, before an object hit him in the back of the head.

"Ow…what?" He picked up the object and realised it was the bottle of pills from earlier. Turning to thank Mustang, he realised the older man was gone.

Next week, a downpour reigned again. This time, Ed was in the office on time for once.


End file.
